124
Anatoly Pankovsky
Notes
1. See, for example: Y.S. Yaskevich. Osnovy ideologii Belaruskogo gosudarstva. Minsk: Tet-
raSystems, 2004.
2. Actually, to avoid general references to geographical and cultural-historical afinity, it is
hard to ind contextual links between Belarus and Europe in general, and CEE, in particu-
lar. It is quite indicative that Belarusian elites — both in their “positive” and “protest” part
- do not have a recognized concept of mutual relations with their close neighbors. Belarus
recognizes only the “CIS countries” and the “other world”. Introduction of the Central
European Initiative with the help of the ex-minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivan Antonovich,
can be considered the only signiicant attempt to change something in this situation. It is
worth mentioning that there is no regional criterion for the CEE countries: there is only
the EU (within which there is, for example, the Visegrad group) on the one hand and the
“post-Soviet countries” on the other hand.
3. Darden A. Blackmail as a tool of state domination: Ukraine under Kuchma // East Euro-
pean Constitutional Review. Vol. 10, #2-3 (Spring Summer 2001) / http://www. law.nyu.
edu/eecr/vol 10, num2_3/focus/darden.html
4. See: Pierre Bourdieu. Duh gosudarstva: Genesis i struktura burokraticheskogo polya //
Poetika i politika. Almanah Rossijsko-frantsuzskogo tsentra sotsiologii i ilosoii Insti-
tuta sotsiologii RAN. M.: Institut eksperimentalnoj sotsiologii; SPb.: Aletejja, 1999. P.
125–166.
5. Alam M. The Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India, Awadh and the Penjab. 1708–1748.
Oxford-Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 1986. P. 17.
6. On December 31, 2001 the four-year term of ofice of Hans-Georg Vik, the irst head
of the COG OSCE, came to an end. Jebergard Hajken, former German ambassador in
Ukraine, was recommended by the OSCE to take the ofice. Minsk did not accept his
candidacy and demanded to review the mandate of the mission. Since January 1st, 2002
Mishel Rivole has performed the duties of the COG head. His visa expired on the 15
th
of
April. Belarusian authorities refused to prolong it, and on the 1
st
of June Andrew Carpenter
was actually expelled. The peak in the war against the COG OSCE was the secret hearing
of the situation with the mission in the House of Representatives on the 22
nd
of May. Le-
onid Erin, the head of KGB of Belarus delivered his speech. On the 28
th
of May the Center
of information and public relations of KGB of Belarus distributed a press release with the
keynotes of the speech. KGB again accused the COG OSCE of intervention into internal
affairs of the country. Leonid Erin declared that the COG OSCE since it started its opera-
tion on the territory of Belarus in 1997 has been under full control of the USA.
7. Pierre Bourdieu. Sotsiologija politiki. .: Socio-Logos, 1993. P. 72.
8. Ultimatum addressed towards the OSCE, is inspired by the idea of distinction between the
aspects of «real» security (prevention of illegal migration threats, terrorism and so forth)
and «secondary» humanitarian disputes. Essence of this ultimatum might be rather vague
for Europeans, who do not quite understand how security issues can be regarded separate
from problems of a humanitarian cycle or, more widely, problems of democracy which are
thought of as one of the basic grounds for a secure world (or more or less secure).
9. ”We, the Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation, Ukraine as the USSR’s states-
founders <...> striving to build democratic states on the principles of law <...> conirming
our adherence to the goals and principles of the Charter of the United Nations Organiza-
tion, the Helsinki inal act and other documents of the Conference on Security and Coop-
126
United Europe is in search of its new identity. However, its
construction turned to be more complex than the coining of euro.
Sometimes European countries find it difficult to develop common
positions on key problems of today's world. However, they have a
uniform base that allows Europe to feel its geocultural unity remain-
ing the place for old democracies in which the concept of law and
civil freedom is immutable.
Philosophical concept of personal freedom fundamental for Eu-
ropean culture historically became an organic necessity and together
with it such became the right to freedom of entire countries and na-
tions. It is no accident that at the international competition on the
new Europe motto held in 2000, one of the “candidates” was an Ital-
ian expression: «In libertate coniuncti» – «United by freedom».
In 1991 Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova looked at Europe en-
thusiastically while Europe enthusiastically looked at new sover-
eign states. Fifteen years have passed but we all still cannot pass the
examination for identity with the united Europe. Perhaps, simply
because we built and strengthened the sovereignty on the basis of
specifically national identity (in its ethnic and political context) and
did not manage to effectively build operating mechanisms of civil
society is that very basis needed for the understanding of and ac-
ceptance in Europe.
Meanwhile, national identity does not exclude stratification of
other, supranational or post national (in terms of the Englishman
Anthony Smith) identities. It is possible to feel oneself a Ukrainian, a
Slav and a European at the same time. One can also mix in the nar-
row “regional” identity of a Huzul or a Kiever and “wide”, global sen-
sation of “the citizen of the world”. But such a high-quality spiritual
blend provides for equality and capability of all elements as well as
the feeling of self-value and self-esteem that is equally important.
Sergey Haritonovich
collision of identities in the Border zone:
postcolonial
syndroMe